Encoded Existence
by Calling.the.Storm
Summary: After living in a life with no freedom outside her own bedroom, Erika enters her first year of College at San Fransokyo Institute of Technology to live the life she wishes. As she tries to adjust to her life, she encounters many new people and experience in her free world but also a lot of trouble. 3 years before movie fanfic. Tadashixoc
1. Prologue

**Hey guys! How are you guys doing?**

**Even though I should update my other stories, I had to write this fanfic.**

**Because I watched Big Hero 6 and it was such a good movie, yet I felt so sad a bit. (Even though Stan Lee appeared)**

**So I'm starting to write a BH6 fanfic.**

**I hope you enjoy!**

**I don't Own Big Hero Six or it's characters.**

**Just my OCs!**

**Thanks! Enjoy!**

**CTS TT-TT**

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Prologue:

It was an early fall morning, when a loud alarm went off in a large room. A young girl laid in a comfy bed, curled up in her midnight blue comforters as the light peeked through her curtain and shined on her face. letting out a groan and turned away hiding her head under the covers pulling her alarm with her as she blindly looked for the stop button. Once she felt the click, silence filled the room and she let out a sigh. Placing the alarm back to its place on the night stand next to the phone on the charging deck, she snuggled deeper in to her blankets to hoping to get a few extra minutes of sleep.

But her hopes were shattered when the door to her room shot open with a bang causing everything to shake.

"Rika! It's morning!" The man with messy sand color hair and amethyst eyes entering the room exclaimed, "Wake up! Come on!" he told the girl he called Rika walking over to her side.

"No… why…?" She groaned under her sheets.

"I'm taking you on a college visit, remember?!" the man reminded as ripped the blankets off the girl. The girl jumped at the sudden chill dancing on her skin and curled up in to a ball.

"It's a Friday…"

"More the reason to get up." The man walked over to the curtains and threw them open, brightening the baby blue colored room. He smiled and turned to Rika who was still in a fetal position. Sighing deeply, he scratched the back of his head, "Hajime~!" he called to the phone on the night stand. The screen light up, and in a matter of few seconds a young girl with long silver hair and blue eyes appeared.

"What's wrong, Ritsu-san?"

"Rika won't get up," He told her pointing the maroon hair girl on the bed. The girl named Hajime sighed and shook her head.

"Mou, I told her staying up late isn't good…" She shrugged, "We have no choice, we'll go with Operation Rooster." She told him.

"Alright," Counting backward from three, Ritsu stepped back a few feet and covered his ear. Instantly, there was a blaring sound of going off with all of the electronics in the room letting out a high pitch noise. Ritsu winced at the sound, but the girl remained unfazed by the sound. He gave a confused look and approached to find her ears plugged already.

He sighed and waved at Hajime to stop the noise. Once silence filled the room, he let out a sighed again.

"Mou, Rika…" He walked to her side and whispered to her ear, "If you don't wake up now, I'm confiscating your wafer sticks stash."

Instantly, the girl's eyelids shot open and she sat up abruptly with her hands out in front of her. Cow licks decorated her deep maroon hair and there was dried drool on her lips.

"I'm up!" The awoken girl yelled.

Ritsu and Hajime looked at each other with surprised looks, but shrugged being satisfied with the plan being successful. After a few seconds, Rika glanced at her brother with confusion as the drowsiness began to return.

"Eh?"

"Okay, come on," Ritsu pulled her out of her bed and dragged her to her closet. Tapping on the screen a few times, the closet door opened pulling out the requested outfit. Ritsu handed Rika her clothes and pushed her to the bathroom. "Hurry and get ready," He told her, "We have to leave soon,"

"O-okay…" she responded still unsure what was going on.

Freshening up with a quick shower, Rika quickly got herself changed in to her clothes which was a semi-long navy blue flared skirt and black tights with a white blouse, red neck ribbon and a beige button up blouse and brown combat boots. She kept her knee length maroon hair down.

Rika stepped out of the bathroom and walked to her nightstand, taking her phone off the charger.

"Morning, Hajime," she greeted.

"Good morning, Mama!" Hajime exclaimed with a smile.

"Time to go!" Ritsu handed Rika her bag and phone and ran out of the room pulling her along. "Come on, let's go!" He exclaimed as he raced down the stairs to the front door.

"W-wait! Ritsu-nii, I need to eat-"

"I'll buy you something later." He told her, "We have to hurry now."

The two rushed out after saying their morning greeting to the head butler of the house. They ran out to the gates of the house to reach the upcoming bus at the stop not too far from the gates.

With a second of extra time, the three managed to get on the bus in relief. Rika sighed siting down in one of the seats rubbing her tired amethyst eyes.

"What were you doing that kept you up so late?" Ritsu asked.

"I was upgrading a few of Hajime's program." She told him, "I'm almost close to letting her materialize through some holograms so she could wander around the room." She let out a tired yawn.

"I told you we were leaving early." Ritsu sighed, "It's not healthy for a teenager to be staying up this late either."

"That's true, Mama. It's not good for your skin." Hajime added.

"I know, but I thought I was going to a local college next year." She reminded her brother.

"This place is local," he informed, "But better."

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

After an long hour on the bus, they got off in the busy city. Ritsu lead Rika and Hajime down the streets of San Fransokyo.

"Rika, you remember my friend Haru, right?" Ritsu brought up suddenly.

"Haru…?" Rika thought for a moment, "Oh, the man who came up with a newly advance mechanic prosthetic parts." She recalled, "Why'd you bring him up suddenly?"

"The college I'm showing you is where he teaches now." He told her. "He's the one who's going to give us a tour"

"Where is…?"

"Here." Rika and Hajime looked at the campus in front of them, with the metallic sign of San Fransokyo Institute of Technology was carved in.

"Here…?"

"Yup," He smiled and took her hand, "Come on."

He lead the two to the closet building, where he went over to the secretary desk asking for his friend. Rika kept looking around the area with her phone in hand so Hajime could see the campus as well.

"It's huge!" the child AI exclaimed. "It's really huge, Mama!"

"Maa… you're small so it seems like that." Rika giggled. She glanced around the hall. "But it is huge."

"Ritsu!" A voice called out. Everyone turned to the black hair male in a lab coat making his way to them with a grin. "Hey."

"Haru!" The two males high fived each other, "It's been awhile!"

"No kidding," Haru laughed, "How's your job?" he asked.

"Tough hours, but it's great." Once the two friends caught up, Haru grinned at Rika.

"Hey, Rika." HE greeted ruffling her hair, "You've grown a lot since I've last seen you. I can't believe you're in your last year of high school. You too, Hajime."

"Hai!" Hajime exclaimed.

"I-it's been a while, Haru-san…" She told him fixing her hair. She smiled seeing how Haru hasn't changed since she last saw him.

"You're lacking tension, Rika. You should be excited that you're here." He told her ruffling her hair again.

"E-Ehehe…"

"Sorry, she's still a little drowsy," Ritsu told her, "Even though, I did tell her to go bed early." He chided.

"Then, I know something that might wake her up." Haru headed to the door, "Let's start the tour."

Haru lead the small group through the campus to the white halls where he went over to the two large door. He turned to them with a grin.

"Prepared to be amazed," He told her before pushing open the door. Erika followed after him and her eyes widened. The room was filled with many students at different stations of the room working on their own inventions. Everyone was just creating and testing what they wanted and see if it worked. It was full of life in Rika's eyes.

"Welcome to the lab, where student work on their projects and new ideas." Haru told them, "What do you think?"

Before Rika could say anything Hajime let out , "Amazing!" Hajime exclaimed.

"Yeah, it is…" Rika added in awe. She looked around the room at each creation.

"Glad you're impressed," Haru told her patting her head, "In an environment like this, you would fit right in."

"Eh-? Well… I'm only skilled in small things… I don't know…" Rika responded fiddling with her hair.

"What are you saying? Don't get shy now, Rika," Ritsu encouraged.

"But…"

"Don't worry, you'll do great here if you come here."

"I agree, Mama!" Hajime exclaimed, "You should go here, it seems more fun."

Rika laughed at her reason, "I know…"

"It's all up to you." Haru told her, "You still have a lot of time so think about it."

Rika looked up at Haru and nodded, "Okay."

"Alright, then let's continue out tour." Haru and Ritsu started to leave.

Rika stood in the lab a few extra seconds, before heading towards her brother and guides direction but she collided in to another individual. The other being slightly larger than her caused her to fall back from the force.

"Oh, I'm sorry." The student apologized.

"No, I'm sorry…" Rika got up and brushed herself off, but noticed the emptiness in her hand. "Ah-"

"Mama!" She heard Hajime yell. She turned to see her phone spinning away from her, "H-Help!"

"H-Hajime!" She quickly went to get her. "Ah- excuse me, sorry," She said as she made her way around the busy lab. When she thought she finally got to her, it was accidentally kicked away by another student.

"Woah-"

"Sorry," Rika said as she quickly went after Hajime to the other side of the lab. She was a few feet away from Hajime when her leg stepped on a thin pipe. In an instant, she lost her footing and she fell forward face first with a small squeak.

A loud thud echoed as she hit the ground causing those around her to look at her.

"O-ow…" Rika muttered holding her face. She felt tears well up in the corner due to the pain.

"You okay?" a voice asked. Rika looked up to the owner of the voice and her dark violet eyes met with brown eyes. It was a boy about her age, tall with brown hair that was cleanly cut. The boy was beside Rika, kneeling in front of her with a soft smile. "You took a pretty hard fall there."

Rika blushed from embarrassment and looked down, "Y-yeah, I'm fine. Thanks." She said in a quiet voice.

"Here," The brunette handed Rika her phone. She took her phone back letting out a small "thank you."

Rika looked down at the screen in concern of Hajime.

"A-are you okay?" She asked quietly.

"Uwawawa…" Hajime muttered feeling her head spin from the surprise attack. All the furniture and accessories in the small screen was all over the place. "T-there's so many swirls… s-still spinning…" She said.

"S-sorry… Hajime…"

Rika looked up and saw the boy with his hand out still with his gentle smile. Rika took his hand and got up, but winced at the sharp pain on the side of her head.

"Ouch-" She shrugged down feeling a lock of her hair being pulled. The boy eyes widened when he realized his foot was on the maroon lock.

"S-sorry," he immediately apologized stepping off her hair.

"No, it's fine." Rika told him as she stood up, "I'm going to cut it soon anyway…" she brushed her long hair back, "It's getting annoying…"

"It's beautiful though," he complimented. But his eyes widened when his mind registered what he said. The two blushed a bright red and looked away from each other bringing them in to an awkward silence.

After a few seconds of silence, the boy decided to speak again.

"S-so, are you a student here?"

"N-no. I'm here on a college fall-" Rika caught herself, "Visit, I mean. College visit." She corrected feeling her cheeks burn even more.

"Oh, same here. What school do you go to?" he asked.

"I-"

"Rika!" The two heard Ritsu call out just as she was about to answer.

"I Got to go…" she told him straightening herself out. "It was nice talking to you, thanks again." She told him before starting to run off. But the boy called out to her once again.

"H-hey, I'm Tadashi. You?"

Rika turned to him and gave him a gentle smile, "Erika," She told him before she exited the room.

Tadashi watched her run with a smile growing on his face. The image of the Erika's smile was stuck in his mind.

"Smooth," A student behind him snickered causing him to blush again.

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After the tour was done, as promised, Ritsu took Rika out to a close café near by the Institute called the Lucky Cat Café. He sipped his coffee as he watched Erika eat her donuts and pastries in joy.

"So what did you think?" he asked her about the college.

Erika looked up at him and put her donut down wiping her face.

"It's a nice school and all but…" She looked down at her sweets, "I don't know if can get in such a high level school…"

"Rika, come on. You're a genius. You should have been there since you were six."

"I'm only smart in programing, Ritsu-nii." She brought up.

"It's a great chance for you too, you should do something you want."

"I agree!" Hajime exclaimed, recovered from the mess. "It's nice to get out of the house and have a change of atmosphere. I'm sure you'll enjoy what you do more there!"

Ritsu smiled and patted her head, "If you're worried about mother and father, Tatsuya talked to them."

"I'm not worried about that… I'm just not confident, I guess… tehehe…" She laughed awkwardly.

"Don't worry, you'll fine. Beside, if they don't let you in, it's their loss, Rika." Ritsu told her.

Rika looked up and smiled.

"Thanks, Ritsu-nii…" she took another bite of her donut, "Then I'll try my best." She told him.

Hajime and Ritsu looked at Erika surprised at her quick decision, but they smiled.

"Yes," They both cheered.


	2. Code 1: One Year After Deja vu

**Hey guys! Thank you for those reading this story and adding it to their list.**

**Hope you enjoy the first chapter!**

**This story does start before the events of the movie but eventually lead up to it.**

**Hope you enjoy! **

**-CTS TT_TT**

* * *

**Character Overview Part 1:**

**Mitsuzuri Erika – Age 18, Specialty Programming/Mechatronics. Hair color: Maroon Eye Color: Purple**

**Only daughter of the Mitsuzuri house. A slight sugar addict, who is reserved and quiet around at school, but very bright and full of energy when it comes to her work. She sometimes considers herself as a hikikomori since there are times she never comes out of her room. She tends to have bad luck at time which results to her getting injured a lot and poor sense of direction.**

**Hajime: Hair Color: White/silver eye color: Blue**

**An AI created by Erika. She is energetic and has a child-like manner. But also helps Erika with many of her projects and looks out for Erika's health. She refers Erika as "mama" since she sees Erika's caring personality as mother-like. On her free time, she likes to read romance novels.**

**Mitsuzuri Ritsue: Age: 26 Color: Light brown (sand color) Eye color: Purple **

**One of Erika's older brother who is carefree and always friendly. He works as a doctor at one of the hospitals that is owned by his Family. He is well liked by everyone but he tends to have a sister complex over Erika and dotes on her. He encourages Erika to do the things she loves and cares for her health.**

**Mitsuzuri Tatsuya: Age: 26: Hair Color: black Eye color: purple**

**Erika's other brother. He works as the head chief of the Mitsuzuri Company. Unlike Ritsu, he looks cold and strict, but he is actually caring and nice softy. He's even the one who made Erika in to a sugar addict. Ritsu and Erika looked up to Tatsuya as a role model and the oldest of the three despite being Ritsu's twin.**

**Awai Haruse: Age: 26 Hair color: black Eye color: green**

**An old friend of Ritsu and a professor at San Fransokyo Institute of technology. He becomes Erika's mentor at the school and helps her when she's in need. Erika considers Haru as another brother. Still young, he is quite popular with the female students.**

* * *

_**Code 1: One Year After Deja vu**_

* * *

Packing her bag, Erika made one last check to make sure she had everything, then looked at the mirror once last time. She brushed back her maroon hair that was now a bit passed her shoulders.

"Mou, you're going to be late, mama!" She heard Hajime's voice in the room.

"I know," she told her. Giving a confident nod and smiled. "Okay, ready." Taking her bag and phone, she quickly left her room and rushed down the stairs. Just as was about to run past the doors, a cold scoff was let out.

"Erika,"

Erika stopped and turned to the woman at the top of the stairs. She stood looking down at her with a frown and sharp cold blue eyes.

"How many times did I tell you not to run down the halls." The brunette scolded.

Erika mentally sighed, "I apologize, but I'm running a bit late…" She told her, "Mother…" She added after a small pause.

"Then wake up earlier to prevent that." She sneered, "You've lived here long enough to-"

"I apologize, but I have to leave." Erika cut her off opening the door and shutting it quickly without listening to her word. Sighing deeply, she shook her head.

"Are you leaving now, Lady Erika?" An elder voice questioned. Erika looked up the head butler of her home, Manabe. Despite being quite elderly, he fulfilled his job as the head butler of the Mitsuzuri family.

"Yes," Erika responded with a smile.

"Then would you like me to prepare a car?" he offered.

"No, it's fine." She assured checking her watch, "I can still make it for the bus. So I'll be going now."

"Have a safe trip, Lady Erika." Manabe bowed as she waved and ran out the front gates of the mansion.

Barely making it on to the bus, Erika managed to squeeze in to the crammed space. Letting out a deep sigh, she began fixing her bangs.

"It was another close call," she heard Hajime speak. "This is because you stayed up late… again…"

"I know, I know." Erika waved off. "It would have be better if we didn't live so far… but I can't complain." She told the AI on the screen on the phone.

* * *

The second the doors opened to her stop, Erika jumped out of the bus and ran down the streets to her college. Once on campus, Erika quickly rushed to the buildings and pushed through the doors to the lab. She made her way to the room further back, where all her things laid. Entering the dark room, she placed her bag and jacket on the hanger.

"Hajime, can you start the computers?" She asked.

"Okay, mama."

Instantly, the screens at the desk turned on and the room lit up; the projectors up on the ceiling let out a blinking noise, before activating. Erika walked over to her desk and picked up an old photo frame with a picture of a woman with wavy maroon color hair in a ponytail and green eye, grinning at the camera as she held a child with the same color hair but with purple eyes.

"Good morning," Erika whispered to the photo kissing her finger tips and pressing them to the photo. After placing the photo down, Erika went to gather her materials for her present project and a can of wafer sticks from, while Hajime materializes through the projectors.

"What are you working on today?" she asked.

"I still need to fix the prototypes of my s-drones. If I could get them to work well, I'll see how well they are compatible with some of the programs I made." Erika told her looking through some of her blue prints. "And if I have time, I'll upgrade more of your H-field."

Hajime's face brighten and smiled, "Okay!"

Erika pulled out a few sphere shaped drones from the cabinet she keeps all her projects in and placed them on her desk to look over them. Taking a wafer stick, she sat down looking over some of the blue prints. It was about Erika's 50th test and she felt she was going now where with this project with the slow progress. Her first few test, the drones hardly moved. Around her 25th test, one of the drones began flying haphazardly breaking a few other things in her lab, including one of her computers, causing her to lose important data. And her 40th test, just as she thought she finally got the drones to float as she wished, the drones over heated and exploded causing her to fall behind on the project once again.

Erika sighed at the memories of the many messes she needed to clean up and the sleepless nights she went through. She prayed she would get something right this time.

But as few hours past, she felt no progress was coming out of the drone. Her head hit the table as she groaned in annoyance.

"A-Are you okay?" Hajime asked hesitantly.

"mmm…" was all the AI heard.

Just as Hajime was going to ask another question, there was knock on Erika's door. Not even waiting for a response, the door opened and Haru walked in.

"Oh, so you were in…"

"Haru-san!" Hajime smiled at the professor

Erika sat up and turned to him, "Oh, Haru… hi."

"What are you doing here? You don't have class today." He told her.

"Doesn't mean I can't come in to work on projects," She told him.

"You've been coming here every day except Sundays. Take a break, Rika." He ordered.

"Home or here, I would still be working on something." Erika informed him reaching over to take another wafer stick. "I just prefer to be here." She turned around to continue working but was pulled out of her chair.

"Come on," he handed her bag and jacket as he pulled her towards the door, "Go out on a walk or talk to someone." He suggested, "Just do something without a computer or anything to do with technology."

"You're telling a hikikomori* to talk to someone, funny." Erika joked hoping she could get back to her work. But Haru tighten his grip on the back of her shirt and lifted her off the ground.

"Eh- Wait-" before she could say anything more, Erika was thrown out of her own lab and Haru locked the door to her lab.

"I know you're slumped anyway, so go do something else for a change."

"Are you saying this so I don't destroy something again?"

"Just get going…"

"Alright, alright," Erika got up holding her hands up in defense. Sighing, Erika picked up her bag, "Ah."

"What?"

"My brothers threatened you, did they?"

The corner of Haru's eyes twitched making Erika slightly grin at his reaction.

"Oh, bulls-eye, huh?" she teased.

Erika dodged the whack she about to receive and rushed to the door, "I'll be back in an hour!" She told him with the cheeky grin still present.

"You don't have to come back." He told her. Erika laughed and ran off. Watching her leave the lab, Haru let out a deep sigh, "Who know she had that cheeky personality…" her muttered.

Erika walked out the campus looking around the streets of the town.

"Is there somewhere you want to go, mama?" Hajime asked, "I can pull up a map and navigation."

"No need, I'll just wander." She told her looking around.

"Alright- Eh- EH?! B-but…"

"I'll just wander till I find something interesting." Erika ran down a random road, just hoping she won't get too lost.

Despite living in San Fransokyo all her life, Erika hardly spent time outside her house besides for school and family businesses. And even though she leaves the house a lot more than she used to in the past, she hardly leaves her own lab. She would always try to get on the earliest bus and get to school when there is barely anyone there and she would always barely make it to the last bus of the day. And it wasn't because she didn't like going outside, it just never came to her mind to take a break. Never mind she hardly talks to the people at her school.

Erika roamed around glancing around the shops and building all she passes by. She Stopped in front of a small boutique where many accessories and clothes were displayed on the show case. One of the mannequins was dressed in a brown and light pink layered shirt with straps and a small bow on the center, along with a white, sleeveless long cardigan; the outfit also paired with black shorts with brown lacy knee socks and converses. She stared at the outfit in awe.

"Do you want this?" Hajime asked.

"No, I just thought it looked cute…" She told her playing with her hair.

"I think it would look good on you, Mama." Hajime encouraged.

"No, I'm good. Besides, wearing something like that would get in the way in the lab." Erika turned away and continued on her small adventure.

As Erika wandered around for a while finding new restaurants, small cute stores and new views of the cities. She enjoyed the new sights and smell she never experienced in the mansion. But she walked by some nostalgic places from her childhood.

She walked by an grey elementary school building, with a large open grass field with a small playground. Children squealed in excitement as they ran around playing a game a tag. She then walked down a street a few blocks away from the school where the rows of white brick apartment buildings stood across the large park of San Fransokyo. Erika stopped and stared at the top floors of one the building where there was a white teruteru bozu* hanging from the plant hook.

Smiling at the sight, Erika walked down the dirt path of the park, till she came by an large pear tree. Sitting down on the grass, Erika looked up through the branches and leaves counting how many unripe fruits she could find. Once she couldn't find any more to count, she let out a sigh and laid down.

"Ah~ I'm bored now…" she muttered.

Hajime looking up to her, "Maa, do you feel refreshed slight?"

"Nope," She bluntly stated, "In fact, my hands are itching to get back to my computer." Erika whispered. stared at the branches full of dark green leaves dying in to a bright orange-red. Sitting up, Erika stretched her arms taking in a deep breath. "Alright, break over!"

Erika rummaged through her bag, pulling out a small tool kit and one of her drones.

"Ah! You had one all this time?!" Hajime exclaimed.

"Of course." Erika told her taking off the titanium cover off the drone, "I never leave my lab without one of these."

Hajime let out a sigh, "Mou, you should listen to Haru-san's words, Mama."

"Hai, hai." Erika told her as she continued fixing the drone.

After a goof hour of fixing the wiring and tightening the screws, Erika placed back the titanium cover. Tucking back some of her maroon hair behind her ear, she examined the drone in her hand and gave a nod. Pulling out a UBS cord, she connected the drone to her phone.

"Hajime, can you try to link to the drone?" She asked.

"Alright,"

The screen on her phone turned white as Hajime began synchronizing to the drone. Once the screen went black, the small light on the drone lit up and it began to float.

"Connection complete," She heard Hajime's voice come out from the drone, "Temperature readings clear, humidity readings clear," Hajime kept going over all the functions of the security drone as Erika confirmed on the numbers coming up on her phone. The drone faced Erika, "Identification scan;" There was a small beep, "Student Mitsuzuri Erika, age 17, student at San Fransokyo Institute of Technology." Hajime stated, "All functions clear and stable." She reported, "Midair balance clear. That is all."

"Alright!" Erika got up in excitement, "Then let's hurry back to the lab to work on the program!" she told her picking up her things.

"Hai,"

* * *

_**_SKIP_SKIP_SKIP_**_

* * *

Erika quickly rushed back to her lab with Hajime following her in the drone. "Is there any overheating?" she asked.

"No, all systems are fine."

"Alright," Erika entered the student lab, "All we have to do is-"

"Watch out!" Erika turned when something green flew past her at great speed and began ricocheting off the walls.

"Sorry!" One of the male students yelled trying to catch the zipping object. The object bounced off other students projects and crashed in to some glass, but the speed didn't decrease.

"M-mama, you should hide-" Hajime was cut off when the object collided in to her. From the sudden force, Hajime flew straight in to the back of Erika's head.

"Gya!" Erika hit the ground, her forehead hitting the solid floor. Her head echoed with a never ending pain as she laid there muffling a line of colorful words. Just then, the chaos stopped as the boy caught the greenish orb with some specialized glove.

"Sorry, about that!" She heard, "Is everyone okay?"

"I'm not," She thought to herself. She slowly got up holding her face both sides of her head throbbing painfully, "Ow… damn it…" She muttered.

"I'm sorry, mama!" Hajime exclaimed. "Are you-"

"You okay?" A new voice asked.

"Some-what…" She muttered looking up to a male with dark brown hair and eyes. He kneeled in front of her with a look of concern. Feeling a sense of Déjà vu, Erika couldn't help but feel her cheeks burn but shook away the thoughts and replied back, "Thanks for your concern-"

"Ahh!" She heard Hajime yelled causing her to jump. "Mama, you're bleeding!" she exclaimed

"Eh?" Erika looked at her hand to find red liquid pooling in her palm. "Shit," She hissed looking for something she could stop the bleeding.

"Here," the man handed her a handkerchief.

"T-thanks," Erika took it and pressed it against her head. She winced at the pain but sighed, "Hajime." She called.

"Yes?"

"Are you okay? Is anything broken?"

"No, all functions are-" Hajime stopped herself, "Now's not the time to be worrying about your project! She scolded, "You need to get to the hospital! You might have a concussion!"

"You're overreacting," She told her getting up on her feet, "I'm fine-" In an instant, a wave of nausea hit her and she fell forward.

But she was caught by the male instantly, "Whoa," He helped her down gently, "Laid down for a bit." He told her using his jacket as a pillow. "Someone call a professor!" he yelled.

As things around them began to get rowdy, Erika's vision and hearing became blurry. The throbbing in her head got heavier and the light just became blinding. Unable to bear the pain anymore, Erika closed her eyes hoping to rid some of the pain, and in an instant, everything fell silent; when she opened her eyes, she only saw an endless darkness all around.

_"__What are you in a rush for?"  
_

Her eyes widened at the sound of the familiar voice ask softly.

* * *

**How was it? The next chapter should be up soon? Review your thoughts!**

***Hikikomori - People who are withdrawn from social life. Also described as loners, "modern day" hermits and recluses.**

***Teru teru bozu : Small dolls made out of cloth or paper. They're hung outside or by the window to ward off rain and bring a sunny day. **


	3. Code 2: Late Bloomer

**_Hello! I finally updated since I've finished exams for this semester!_**

**_Thank you for those who have favorite and followed this story and thank you for those for reviewing!_**

**_I'll be updating more frequently since I'm in vacation now._**

**_For now Enjoy!_**

**_Review. Like. Follow!_**

**_Thanks!_**

**_-CTS TT-TT_**

* * *

**_Code 2: Late Bloomer…?_**

* * *

_"__What are you in a rush for?"_

Erika's eyes widened and she turned to the direction where the voice came from. A few feet away, a woman stood with her back to Erika with one hand on her waist. She wore a simple white button up blouse with black skinny jeans and white flats; her long, wavy maroon hair tied up in to a ponytail.

Erika stared at the figure in shock, not able to speak.

_"__So?"_ the figure spoke again.

"Eh?" Erika managed to let out in confusion. The woman glanced back at her and let out a sigh.

_"__What are you in a rush for?"_ She asked again, _"You're still young enough to be slow."_

Erika looked down, "I…" she began, but she took a deep breath, "I'm close to becoming a programmer almost like you." She told her, "I got into a good school, I've been creating a lot of things with mechatronics and programming!" She told her. "I feel I'm almost to where you are now." The woman stared at her with her emerald eyes as she listened.

_"__Nope, you're still far from reaching me," she told her. "In matter of fact, you're nowhere close."_

Erika's eyes widened at the blunt words.

_"__Tell me, are you happy?" _she asked suddenly.

"O-of course I am! I'm doing what I love!"

_"__Even if you're not chasing your own dream?"_ the woman asked sharply. Erika stopped as her words were cut off, she felt a deep pain within her chest. The woman let deep sigh and walked over to Erika. She patted her head gently, _"You still have a lot of time ahead of you. You need to take your time and look around your surroundings." _She told her in a soothing voice, _"Otherwise, you'll miss what's really important to you."_

_"__Eh?"_

The woman hugged Erika tightly with a smile gracing her lips.

_"__Naa, Erika. Instead of chasing my dream, look for your own now." _she whispered, _"When you do, tell me how happy you are then." _The woman grinned and pushed her back.

Erika gasped as fell back to land on cushions of softness. Her eyes were now staring at her sky blue ceiling of her bedroom.

"Eh?" she let out in confusion. She slowly sat up and glanced around confirming she was in her room. She reached up to touch her forehead and winced at the pain, "Ow!"

"Ah, mama!" Hajime appeared next to her, "Are you okay- ah." Hajime's eyes widened, "Why are you crying, mama?"

"What?" Erika brushed her eyes to feel her hands slightly damp. "Why?"

"I just asked that." Hajime looked at Erika in concern. Erika wiped her face and turned to Hajime with a smile.

"I'm fine." She told her.

"Are you sure?" Hajime asked.

"Yeah," Erika laid back down, "How long was I asleep?" she asked.

"Well… it's almost half past 12 now, so 21 hours and 26 minutes." She told her, "You had a mild a mild concussion but nothing too serious." She informed, "Also, Ritsu-san said to rest all day."

Erika sighed deeply, "Please tell me he didn't call the whole hospital to pick me up…"

There was an elderly laugh at the door followed by, "No worries, Lady Erika. He found out when you got to the hospital." Erika and Hajime turned to Manabe walking in her room with a tray in his hand. "How are you feeling?"

"Better than before." She told him.

"I'm glad," he smiled and placed the tray on her lap. The tray was filled with her some of her favorite dishes like cream corn chowder with a warm croissants, assorted fruits and a cup of royal milk tea sweeten with maple syrup. Erika's face glowed with excitement as she stared at the food.

"Uwa~" she said with a smile, "You didn't have to carry it here, Manabe-san. I could have gone down to the dining room." She told him.

"It's no problem, Lady Erika. Master Ritsue ordered to have it served in your room once you woke up." He informed, "And I would feel reassured if you didn't move too much today as well."

"I understand, Thank you," Erika smiled and put her hand together, "Itadakimasu." She began eating. In a few minutes, she finished her meal with a full stomach, "Gochisou-sama." She said. "The food was great, Manabe-san."

Manabe took the tray off her lap with a smile, "I'm glad you are satisfied, Milady." He told her.

Erika glanced around her bed.

"Um, where's my laptop?" She asked.

"Master Ritsu confiscated it for today with this message, "Please stay rested in bed and refrain from doing your work. If you're bored, I left you a few books on the side.'." He informed. Erika stared at him in shock but decided not to go against her brother's wishes.

"Okay, thanks again, Manabe-san."

Giving a quick bow, the head butler left the room closing the door softly. Erika sighed quietly and leaned against her pillows.

Hajime sighed at her creator and looked up at her, "Mou, can't you think about anything else beside work?" she reprimanded.

"Nope." Erika responded and reached over to her night stand to get one of the books her brother left; but her eyes caught sight of a neatly folded navy blue cloth beside the books. "Hajime." She called.

"What is it?"

"Whose is this?" She asked taking the handkerchief.

"Oh, it belonged to the boy that helped you." Hajime told her. "He was with you the whole time you were unconscious, and he was very kind."

"Hm…" Erika thought about it.

"He saved you again," Hajime commented.

"Eh? Again?" she questioned in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Hajime looked at Erika in surprise, "You don't remember him? You met him last year at your college visit." She reminded,

"Oh, him. Um…" Erika tried to remember his name, "What was his name?"

"Ha?!"

* * *

~*~ Next day

* * *

After a good rest, Erika stood in the large tiled kitchen pulling out ingredients for baking out on to the counter top. After a good hour of yelling from Hajime, Erika decided she wanted to thank the male that helped her out twice. Yet, she still couldn't recall his name (Hajime refused to tell her). As she got out the bowls and materials needed, she began to think about what to make.

"Do guys even like sweet things?" She thought, "No, I'm sure… Ritsu-nii and Tatsu-nii likes them, but…"

"Cookies should be fine," Hajime suggested.

"Yeah… I guess, then-"

"Lady Erika?"

Erika let out a small shriek and turned to Manabe who was at the door. She let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh, it's just you, Manabe-san…" She laughed.

"I'm sorry for frightening you, but what brings you to the kitchen?" he asked.

"Ah, I was planning on baking- oh, Manabe-san." She called deciding to get his opinion.

"Yes, Milady?"

"What do you think is a good idea for a thank you gift? I was planning on baking cookies, but I'm not really sure…" She told him.

"I'm sure anything you make, Master Tatsuya and Master Ritsue will enjoy." He told her.

"Oh… but this time it's not for them…." She admitted bashfully. The butler's eyes slightly widened, but he smiled at the girl.

"Then I'm sure that person as well will enjoy any gift from you." He assured.

"O-okay, then can you help me?"

"Of course."

As the two began measuring and mixing ingredient under Hajime's instructions, Manabe started a small conversation with Erika.

"I'm surprise, to hear you're making something for someone beside your brothers." He told her.

"Eh? Ah, yeah… it is." Erika stated with a blush.

"Is it a friend at school?"

"No… not exactly… its for the person who helped me," She told him as she mixed the dry ingredients together, "I met him last year at the college visit." She explain, "He was nice, he helped me up when I tripped and also…" she trailed off.

"Also?"

"He told me my hair was beautiful." She told him with a growing blush.

"I see why that makes you happy," He commented with a smile.

"R-right?! Almost all the boys who saw my hair called it witch's hair or blood colored hair! But he told me it was beautiful…" she told him playing with a lock, "Ah, but… I forgot his name…" she admitted. "It's been a year since I met him… but I feel bad for not remembering it. I'm sure it started with Ta-…" she thought for a moment, "Tadase? No… Takashi…? Hm…?"

"I'm sure you'll remember it, Lady Erika." Manabe assured.

"Yeah… I hope…"

* * *

~Cookies are done!

* * *

Once the cookies were baked and cooled, Erika packed the cookies in a cute light blue box with a ribbon. She looked at the product in satisfaction and smiled.

"Thank you for helping, Manabe-san."

"It was my pleasure, Milady." Manabe told her, "

Erika took the box and left the kitchen, but came back in a matter of few seconds.

"Manabe-san!" she yelled in slight panic.

"Yes?"

"How do you give someone a thank you gift?" She asked. Hajime let out a sigh at her creator.

* * *

~*~ Next day~*~

* * *

Erika walked down the hallway of SFIT on her way to her first morning class. She took a deep breath as her mind kept set on the handkerchief and box of cookies sat in her shoulder bag. She still had no idea how to approach the boy despite talking to other people for advice (those people being Haru &amp; other maids of the house). Erika sighed to herself.

"Why am I having a hard time about this?" she told herself, "I just have to give it back to him… I gave cookies to my brothers…" she tried playing a scenario in her head, "Do I just hand it to him the second I see him? I don't want to be too casual…" She thought deeply to herself, "I still don't remember his name…" She recalled, "What was it? Tadao? No… It was really simple… Tada… Tada…"

Then as if the light switch was turned on, the name popped in.

"Ah, Tadashi."

"Yeah?"

Erika jumped at the new voice and looked back at the brunette male behind her. Tadashi stared back at the maroon color hair with girl with confused look. Erika's eyes widened and she quickly looked away scolding herself in her mind.

"Did I say that out loud?! Damn it! Idiot!" She continued mentally yelling at herself, "I need to give it to him now… or I could run for it… Damn it! I'm running out of options!" Erika kept arguing with herself until her phone rang signaling a message. She looked at the phone to see Hajime holding a message.

"It's your chance now, Mama!"

Erika stared at the AI and sighed giving in. She turned to Tadashi and walked over to him.

"H-hi…" she greeted awkwardly.

"Hey," he replied back. Erika reached in to her bag and took out the box and handkerchief, handing them to him.

"Here." She told him not knowing what else to say. There was an awkward silence between two, causing her face to turn red. But Tadashi took the items. Erika took a breath and talked again, "Thanks for helping me the other day…"

"No problem," He told her, "Are you okay now?"

"yeah…" Erika responded "Bye." She turned on her heel ready to make a run for it, but Tadashi spoke up again.

"I'll walk with you. We're in the same class anyway."

Erika looked back at the boy, "Eh? Really?" she asked bluntly.

Tadashi laughed at her reaction, "I sit a few seat beside you." He told her, "It's a large class so I don't blame you though."

"N-no… I'm sorry," Erika told him.

"It's fine, don't worry about it."

The two walked down the hallways in silence. Erika kept looked at the ground as she tried to think of something they could talk about, but Tadashi beat her to it.

"So you ended up cutting it?"

"Eh?"

"Your hair."

"Ah, yeah…" She replied playing with a loose lock, "It was getting to long and I kept tripping on it so I cut a lot of it off…" She told him. "B-but, I donated it. I'm not sure if anyone wants this strange color hair though… hehe…" She looked to the side trying to stop herself from babbling for too long, "S-so? What major are you?" she asked changing the topic.

"I'm a robotics major, you?"

"Oh, cool. I'm a programming and mechatronics major." She told him. "I specialize in hologram and AI."

"I know," He told her, "I saw your presentation at the Expo earlier this year."

Erika's mouth dropped as bright red exploded all over her face, but not for the reason you think… the mention of the Expo brought up slightly traumatizing memories to her.

"O-oh…" She replied hesitantly, "H-how much of it did you see?" she asked nervously.

Tadashi glanced at Erika's face that was matching the color of her hair and couldn't help but grin. Erika glanced and her face dropped.

"I'm sure that start was hard to miss." He told her, but found the girl was missing from his sight. He looked up to see Erika curled up in to a ball, with her hands hiding her face from the world. "H-hey… you okay?"

Erika shook her head refusing to look up. Tadashi walked over to the girl and patted her head.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to tease you too much," he told her.

Erika glanced up at the apologetic boy and pouted, "You don't have to apologize…" She told him getting up back, her cheeks still red.

"You know, that's not the reason why I remembered." He said in a quiet voice

"Eh?" Erika looked up at him wondering what he just said, "What did you-"

"What are you two doing?" The two jumped and turned to Haru holding a box containing his teaching supplies.

"H-Haru- I-I mean, Professor Awai... w-what are you doing here?" Erika asked,

"Ha what are you saying? Class is going to start soon and you two are standing in front of the door blocking the way," Haru pointed out. The two turned to the door to realize they were right in front of their class room.

"Oh, look that at…"

"Just go in…"

The two started heading in, but Erika stopped and looked back Haru.

"What?"

"You have bad timing, Haru." She told him with a pout.

"Ha?!"

"Nothing!" Erika walked in with a small smile.


	4. Code 3: Clearing the Page

**ALRIGHT! It has been a while since I've updated... I've been busy (cough* lazy) but luckily I'm in Spring Break next week and I'm planning on updated my stories. Just need to type them up...**

**Also, I was just on pinterest and figured out that Tadashi was 21 in the movie... just random fact (I still can't watch the movie without having my heart broken...)**

**Thank you for thoes who have been reviewing and adding the story to the favorites list and Alert list! I'm really glad to know people have been reading.**

**Hopefully next chapter would be up in a few days. I owe you guys.**

**Well Enjoy the Chapter!**

**-CTS TT_TT**

* * *

**Code 3: Clearing the page**

* * *

Erika stood outside on the campus of SFIT on the bridge in front of the exhibit hall. Sighing deeply, she stared at the river that carried off the fall leaves.

_"__Are you happy? ... Even if you're not chasing your own dreams?" _

Letting out a deep sigh, Erika dropped her head in depression.

"I…" she thought, "It wasn't that I wanted to chase your dreams…" She mumbled.

"Who are you talking to?"

"Eep-!" Erika squealed and turned to Haru, who just raised an eye at her, "H-Haru! W-where did you come from?!"

"I was behind you for a while…" Haru bluntly told her.

"Seriously?"

Haru sighed and stood beside the girl, "What's gotten into you?" He asked.

"Eh? What are you talking about?"

Haru smirked at her, "I'm not your brothers but I've known you long enough to know something is bothering you when it comes to your work." He told her, "You haven't progresses at all since that incident back then."

Erika laughed nervously but sighed deeply, "Er… I'm in a slump... I think… I don't really know…" she said trying to laugh it off.

"Which is it?" Erika took a moment to sort out her thoughts when she suddenly gasped. Haru stared at the maroon hair girl strangely. "What is it?"

"Am I going through something like a mid-age crisis?!"

That earned the girl a good smack to the back of her head, "Take this seriously, Aho."

Erika frowned and lightly glared at him but sighed again looking at the water, "Hey, Haru, is it bad to have the same dream as someone?"

"Ha?" Haru raised an eye at the girl.

"I thought I would be happy if I just continued on just doing programming as I like, and find ways to change the world like her," She explained, "But I got asked is that really makes me happy chasing after someone elses dream and I don't really know at this point."

Listening to the girl, Haru thought for a moment before he began speaking.

"It's not bad to have a similar dream as another person but if you don't have your own twist to your dream, that won't make you happy," Haru told her. Erika glanced at him with a confused look. "It's not a bad thing to look up to person to make your dream, you'll have to find something only you can do with it." He explained and glanced at Erika, who stood in deep thought.

"But… what can I do?" she finally asked.

"I can't answer that for you," Haru told her ruffling her hair, "You'll have to figure that out yourself, but I can say that your already know the answer, you just have to notice it."

Erika gave a confused look again but nodded, "Okay… got it. Then I have a request," She told him.

* * *

After a minute of planning out his thoughts, while he paced back and forth from his lab door to the lab next to his, Tadashi took a deep breath. He wanted to talk to Erika again and know her a bit more and maybe go out for lunch and introduce her to his friends, but that seemed impossible with her constantly going in and out of her lab and immediately vanishing after classes are done. Tadashi stared at her lab door and knocked on the door, hoping she was in the room.

There was no reply from the other side of the door and Tadashi sighed. "Guess she's not here…" he turned to leave, but the door slightly opened in that moment. Tadashi raised an eye at the door contemplating if he should go inside, but decided to look inside.

"Hello?" He called out walking in to the lab looking around, but Erika was nowhere in sight, "Um…"

"Can I help you?" a voice came out suddenly startling the male. Tadashi jumped as the computers and room lights instantly turned on and Hajime appeared before him, "Hello!" She greeted him with a bright smile. Tadashi stared at the silver hair AI is shock, she seemed about the age of his younger brother and had bright blue eyes.

"Whoa…" Tadashi gasped. Hajime stared at him while hiding her excitement.

"Um…" She called out to him. "Helloo~?" She waved her hand in front of his face.

"Oh- sorry…" He immediately snapped out of his thoughts, "Hey…"

"Hi again," Hajime greeted, "Is there something I can help you with?" She asked again.

"Oh, yeah… I was wondering Erika was here, but guess not." Tadashi told her.

"Mama is talking to Haru-san right now," Hajime told him, "She should be back in a few minutes."

"Okay, thank-" He looked at the girl, "Wait… Mama?" he questioned.

"Yes," Hajime confirmed, "I'm Hajime! And AI created by Hashima Erika, my mama." She explained.

Tadashi's eyes widened, "You're an AI? Seriously?" Hajime smiled and nodded, "Well, nice to meet you, I'm Tadashi Hamada," He introduced himself and put out his hand to shake, but Hajime giggled.

"My hand will just go through, Tadashi-san," She told him.

"Oh, right… sorry,"

"No, it's alright. But's nice to meet you too." Hajime told him as she around the male observing him, "Oh, Thank you for helping mama. Twice in fact." She added.

"No, it was nothing." He told her. "I-"

Suddenly, the door shot open with Erika marching in carrying a large box of supplies and tools.

"Hajime! I got permission! Time to start-" Erika stopped noticing the other presence in the room. "Oh. Hi, Tadashi…"

"Hey, Erika," Tadashi greeted.

"What brings you here?" she asked. Before Tadashi could answer, Hajime jumped in with a cheeky smile.

"He wanted to ask you something!" she told her, "He's been pacing in front of your lab for quite a while," She added with a giggle.

Tadashi blushed slightly realizing that the AI saw everything.

"Ah, I see. I'm sorry, I needed to talk to Ha- I mean Professor Awai." She told him placing her supplies down on a nearby desk..

"No, it's fine." Tadashi told her, "I just wanted to ask if you want to go eat lunch with my friends right now."

"Eh… um… well," Hajime cut Erika off this time.

"She'll love to!" she answered for her, "She's free right now."

"Eh- Hajime-"

"If you're slumped, it's good to do something different for once," Hajime encouraged her, "Also, human interaction is also important for someone your age," she added. The drones already carried Erika's bag and jacket to her. "Now get going."

"You're not coming with me?"

"Tadashi-san invited you," Hajime replied, "I can't follow you everywhere," she gestured her creator to dip down to tell her something. As Erika did as she requested Hajime whispered, "This is your chance, first step is friendship in every first love."

Erika raised an eye and stared at the girl strangely, "You've been reading my romance novels again haven't you?"

Hajime just laughed and had the drones push out the two student, "Have a safe trip!" She called before shutting the door.

Erika stood at the door slightly confused of the AI's actions, but shook her head.

"So, want to get going?" Tadashi asked breaking the silence.

"Yeah, sure…"

While Erika followed Tadashi to the café where they were going to meet up with his friends, she made small conversations with him till they were at the cafe. Tadashi began telling her about his friends, Honey Lemon, Gogo, Wasabi and Fred and the reason about their nicknames given by Fred. He also told her about his younger brother, and how much of a troublemaker he could be but he was a bright kid. Tadashi also told her wanted to make a robot that can help people and a bit about what he's working on. Erika told him about her brothers and how one is usually laid back, but gets overprotective and constantly a worrywart, while the other one is has a strict appearance and level headed but is really a softie and caring.

"Hey, Tadashi!" A call came from a table near the window once the two entered a pizza restaurant. The two walked over to the table where four other people sat.

"Hey guys." Tadashi greeted.

The tall female with long blond hair noticed Erika first and immediately got up. She easily towered over Erika even without her heels.

"Hi, are you Erika?" she asked sounding excited.

"Ah…Yes…" she replied not knowing what else to say.

"Honey Lemon, this is Erika. Erika this is Honey Lemon."

"Hi, nice to meet you," Erika greeted.

"Hi, Erika! It nice to finally meet you! You can call me Honey Lemon," Honey exclaimed, "I heard a lot about you around the school. I like your hair, is it natural? Your eyes are pretty too! I hope we get along!"

"Eh- Ah- Thanks…. Okay… yeah, it's natural… and same here." Erika replied. "Eh? Around the school? What did you hear?"

Tadashi continued to introduce Erika to his other friends, "Then this is, Gogo, Wasabi and Fred. Guys, this is Erika."

"Hey," Gogo simply greeted.

"Nice to meet you, Erika." Wasabi said.

"What's up, Erika!"

"H-hi," Erika greeted the rest of the group with a smile and wave. She took a seat between Tadashi and Honey Lemon, slightly fidgeting.

"So what's your major?" Fred asked.

"Oh, Programming and Mechatronics." She told him.

"Cool! Then you can make me some x-ray vision googles!"

"Eh?"

"Fred." Gogo growled as a warning.

"What? You guys won't make me what I requested you because it's "not science"," Fred retorted.

"Um… I'm sorry… that's not science as well…" Erika told him.

"Oh come on! Then a formula to make me into a fire breathing lizard at will is "not science" either."

"It's really not," Honey told him.

"Come on!" Fred exclaimed. "Then what about a mechanic arm that fires rockets?!"

"No Fred." Wasabi told him.

Erika watched the group talk and couldn't help but laugh a bit at the conversation. After a while, She comfortably talked to Honey Lemon and Wasabi.

"How is it like being mentored by Professor Awai?" Honey Lemon asked. "Some people find him hard to approach since a lot of people say he's really strict and hard to work with."

"Eh? He nothing like that. I get scolded a lot but he helps out when I'm in trouble." Erika told her.

"I'm even surprised Professor Awai decided to mentor. I heard he never mentors students." Wasabi added in.

"Really? Haru always seemed like the person who would like to mentor. He always gave me advice when I was younger…" She told him. The two looked at her surprised finding she was friends with the young professor. Noticing their surprised look, Erika quickly gave an explanation. "Ah! H-Haru is a friend and was an old classmate of my brothers and he use to come over a lot and we would sometimes talk about technology and stuff. He's also the person who invited me to go to the Institute."

"But it's still cool how you got him to mentor you. Like Tadashi who has Professor Callaghan as his mentor."

"Wow," She said in awe glancing at Tadashi. "That's amazing…"

"So what are you working on right now?" Wasabi asked.

"Right now I'm working on a security robots and some holographic programs, but I'm going to drop that soon and start a new project."

"EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!" A loud yelled came out from Erika's pocket causing the restaurant to go silent and all eyes laid on the table by the window. Erika's eyes widened in shock and she quickly reached in to her pocket and looked on her screen to see a bit of silver hair fly back.

"Hajime… come on out," She told her. The AI peeked out from the side with a sheepish smile one her lips.

"Hehehe, hi…" She laughed uneasily as she awkwardly waved.

"You were here the whole time?"

"Hai! I was keeping an eye on you!" she replied energetically

Erika sighed, "I don't mind, but say something."

"Hai~!"

"You might as well introduce yourself now," She told her placing her phone down on the table. "Guys… this is Hajime." She told the group. A miniature hologram of Hajime appeared before them.

"Hello, everyone!" Hajime greeted. "I'm Hajime! Nice to meet you all!"

"Woah,"

"Cool, a person came out from your phone!" Fred exclaimed.

"It's a hologram," Gogo told him.

Hajime laughed, "Nice to meet you, I'm Hajime."

"She's so cute! Is she your sister?" Honey Lemon asked.

"I'm Mama's AI!" Hajime replied.

"An AI? Seriously?" Wasabi stared at the small hologram.

"Mama?" Gogo questioned glancing at Erika strangely.

"Ah, she wanted to call me that…" She quickly explained. Hajime giggled and smiled, but she then turned to Erika.

"What do you mean you're going to drop the project, Mama? The project was coming out well."

"I'm not going to scrap it completely, I'll work on it on my own time but I just wanted to work one something different." She explained. "I talked to Haru about it and he already gave me permission."

Hajime nodded and sat down on the end of the phone, "So what are you going to be working on then?" She asked.

"Eh?" Erika looked to the side, "I have no idea…"

"Ah, I knew it."

"EH? What is that supposed to mean?!"

"Exactly what I said…"

* * *

After everyone finished lunch they all decided to head back to the lab. Erika walked beside Tadashi holding her phone out showing Hajime around the area.

"So how come you didn't use Hajime as your entrance project at the Showcase?" Tadashi asked, "An AI like her is amazing, it's advanced from any other AI I've seen."

Erika glanced at Tadashi, "Because Hajime is special," She explained, "She's the first thing I created when I started programing, and I don't think of her as an invention." She looked down to see her sleeping peacefully on the screen now, "I only see her as family, she's also an keepsake of someone important to me." She told him, "Beside… Hajime's base programing wasn't something I created so I can't take the credit of being her creator." She added.

"Huh, so who help you create Hajime?"

"Hm…" Erika contemplated for a moment but turned to him, "Secret."

"Come on, really?"

"Yeah, I'll tell you some time soon, but right now it's a secret!" She told him with a smile. But then a thought came to her mind, "Oh, change of topic but what's your dream, Tadashi?" She asked.

"My dream?"

"Yeah, you know. What do you want to do with robotics and technology?"

"Oh, that. I want to make a robot that helps people in need. Like a healthcare robot that can tell you what's wrong and help you heal." He easily answered. "Like my parents, my parents were doctors and the always worked to help people."

"Were?" Erika questioned.

"They died in an accident when I was ten years old." He told her. Erika's eyes widened.

"Ah, I'm sorry."

"No, it's fine. Don't worry about it." Tadashi told her with a small smile. But Erika looked at him with concern. "So what about you?" Tadashi asked changing topics.

"Eh?"

"Your dream."

"Ah, that... I don't know yet." She told him, "I was following someone else's dream till now and when I realized that, besides continuing programming I realized I don't really have a dream yet. That's why I thought starting a new project was a way of clearing the page and figure out what I want to do." She explained.

"It's not a bad thing," Tadashi told her, "That's why you're in college right? Just find a new angle and you'll find something." Erika glanced at him and smiled.

"Ah, I see… thanks…"


	5. Code 4: Another normal Day

**_Hi guys! Here's the new chapter!_**

**_I'm not sure if you guys have noticed in the last chapter, that Erika had a different last name. There is a reason for that and it will come up in the next 2-3 chapters! Enjoy._**

**_Also another note. Erika started her year in SFIT during the summer. SO she's a bit ahead of some students._**

**_Thank you for thoes who have began to follow and favorite this story! I really appreciate it! And hope I can get some comments and reviews on what I can fix and do to make this story better!_**

**_Enjoy!_**

**_-CTS TT-TT_**

* * *

**_Code 4: Another normal day_**

* * *

_"__Yossha, it's made." The red hair women told the maroon hair girl in her lap. The two stared at laptop screen showing the computer codings. "Now, Erika what are you going to name it?" she asked._

_"__hm…" The girl took a moment to think, then she turned to the women with a bright smile, "Hajime!" She told her, "She's Erika's first project, so Hajime!"_

_The woman smiled and patted her head, "Alright, Hajime it is." She leaned back on the couch and hugged the girl, "Erika, you have to take care of Hajime from now. She's still an egg, you have to raise her and help her grow," She explained, gently running her hand through the girl's hair, "Do you think you can do that?"_

_"__Yeah!" The girl confidently replied with a grin. "Erika can do it!"_

* * *

~*~ SFIT Erika's Lab

* * *

It was a week since Erika decided to work on a new project, and everything felt like a normal day. Erika walked around her lab sorting and cleaning through the bookshelves and desks that remained cluttered with a strawberry wafer stick in her mouth. Once she was done cleaning up all the clutter, she sat down on her chair and nibbled on a new wafer stick from the tin can beside her as she began going through some books and articles. She sighed as she reached for another wafer as she wrote notes, but her hand touched the bottom of the can. Pulling out her hand, she looked down only to see the empty void inside with a few crumbs.

Slowly getting up, she walked over to the closet in the corner. Opening the door, she revealed a collection of candies and sweet treats; but nowhere in sight was there a can of wafers. Letting out another a deep sigh, Erika took her wallet and coat, walking over to the door.

"I'm going to-"

"No!" Hajime yelled appearing before her with her hands stretched out to block her path, "You're eating too much, Mama! That was your ninth can this week and it's only Tuesday!" she exclaimed indicating the small pile of empty wafer cans behind them, "All this sugar consumption is not good for your health!"

"Eh? But sugar helps me think…"

"Then take an alternative like gum!" Hajime reprimanded.

"But I hate gum…" Erika muttered.

"You shouldn't complain! You also have other snacks."

"I'm in the mood for wafers!"

Hajime sighed, "You haven't even started your proposal for your new project, you should continue work!"

"It's fine, I won't be gone for long-" Erika tried to walk around Hajime but Hajime blocked her with the drones.

"No!"

"Why?!"

The two continued arguing, oblivious to Tadashi, who walked in to check in on Erika.

"It's my freedom!" Erika exclaimed.

"You need to watch your calories! Ritsu-san even told you if you continue eating this much every day, you'll get fat!" Hajime pointed out.

"I exercise!"

"Guys…" Tadashi called out. But the two girls continued to argue.

"You need to work!"

"Mou! I want my wafers!"

"Mama! Quite whining!" Hajime suddenly pointed towards Tadashi, "I'm sure Tadashi-san agrees as well!" she yelled dragging him in to the conversation.

"What?"

Erika pouted, "I need them to concentrate… so I just-"

"No!"

"Why…?" Erika slightly puffed her cheeks and crossed her arms, looking to the side. Hajime let out a deep sigh. Tadashi stood in the room completely confused.

"What's going on…?" He asked the AI.

"Mama is just having her tantrums," She told him, "She's been in a slump again, so she's just been mindlessly eating snacks the past few days…" Hajime glanced at the chalkboard left to the side of the room, the board completely blank besides the one word 'ideas' in capital letters, "and because of that she hasn't gotten anywhere on her new project…" Hajime muttered. Hajime turned to her creator to find her squatting, poking at the ground still pouting, "Curse her sugar addiction."

"Does this happen often?" Tadashi asked.

"Sadly, yes," Hajime told him, "But she'll get over it soon."

Hajime walked over to Erika and squatted down to her, "Come on, Mama. Sitting here all day won't get you anywhere."

Erika glanced at Hajime for a moment before letting out a sigh, "Fine," She muttered giving up.

Hajime smiled at her victory and got up, "Yay! Then let's get back to work. I know you have some lollipops somewhere," She told her. Erika nodded and got up stretching her arms and turned to Tadashi.

"Hey…" she greeted him with a slight blush. Tadashi smiled at her.

"Hey," He greeted, "I see you two get along well…"

"Haha… yeah… sorry. Did we bother you?" Erika asked slowly going back to her quiet self.

"No, don't worry about it." He glanced at the board, "Still haven't found an new angle?"

"Ah- yeah…" She replied, "I just haven't-" The two were cut off when a sudden ringing filled the room.

"It's Ritsu-san," Hajime told Erika.

"Oh," Erika turned to Tadashi, "Sorry, I need to take this." She turned to Hajime, "Answer."

Suddenly, the room slightly darkened and light gathered in the center of the room creating Ritsue to appear.

"Rika, Hajime-chan. How are you guys?" Ritsue asked with his usual smile. Erika smiled at her brother.

"Hi, Ritsu-nii. And you know, the usual." Erika replied walking over to clean up her desk, "Free and single, ready to mingle." She added.

"Hm… I see- no. no!" Ritsu exclaimed, "No mingling!" He told Erika.

"Come on, Ritsu-nii." Erika fake whined.

"No! I'm not giving away my baby sister anytime soon!"

Erika let out a laugh, "I'm joking, Ritsu-nii," She assured. "So why are you calling? Is Teito having problems?" she asked referring to Ritsue's holographic pet cat.

"No, just checking in on you. Haru told me you decided to start a new project. How's that going?"

Erika gave an uneasy shrug to her brother.

"Not so well, I see…" Ritsue glanced at then books and notes on her desk, and caught the pile of empty wafer cans, "Rika, what did I say about consuming too much sugar?"

"Eh- well…" Erika laughed uneasily.

"Geez, it's a miracle that you and Tatsuya are diabetic yet." Ritsue muttered, "Too much sugar will damage your brain you know."

"I know," Erika replied. "But I'm fine," Ritsu sighed and reached over to pat her head despite being a hologram.

"Take care of yourself more, Rika." Ritsue begged, "I'm just worried."

Erika smiled at her brother and nodded, "Alright, Ritsu-nii. I'll try to cut back on a few things." Ritsue smiled back at his sister.

"Okay, that's good enough." He told her, "Just make sure…." Ritsue's voice trailed off when he noticed Tadashi standing on the other side of him, "Rika… who this person-"

"Calm down-"

"I was serious about no mingling," He strictly told her.

"Ritsu-nii!" Erika yelled stopping him, "He's a friend! He's also the one who helped me." She told him pulling Tadashi over, "Tadashi, this is my brother, Ritsue. Ritsu-nii, this is Tadashi." She introduced the two praying Ritsue would behave. "There, now you know each other…" Erika stated hoping her brother would drop the overprotectiveness along with the awkward silence, but Tadashi beat him to it.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Tadashi Hamada." Tadashi introduced himself. Ritsue raised an eye at Tadashi and observed him.

"Ritsu-nii," Erika called in a warning tone. Ritsu looked at his sister, who raised an eye at him. Giving in, Ritsu stood up straight.

"Like wise." He told him with a smile, but his eyes were dark, telling Tadashi "I'm watching you…"

"Uh…"

"Well, I got to get back to work," Ritsue stated turning back to his sister, "Take care, Rika, Hajime-chan."

"Hai~!" Erika replied.

"Oh and Don't forget to keep your schedule open next Thursday!" Ritsue reminded. "Don't put anything in for that day!"

"I know, it's right here," Erika told him tapping on her calendar where the 18th was circled.

"Alright, bye."

"Bye!" Hajime waved.

Erika waved at her brother, "Bye, Ritsu-nii."

The call ended and the apparition of Ritsu vanished. One the room light up again, Erika let out a awkward laugh.

"Sorry about that…" she apologized, "Ritsu-nii isn't a bad person… he's just-"

"Overprotective?" Tadashi finished.

"Yup." Erika replied popping the p at the end. Again, the room was filled with awkward silence.

"Hey-" "Um-"

The two spoke at once, but quickly closed their mouths.

"Sorry, You go ahead." Tadashi told her.

"No, it's fine. You can go first."

"No-"

"But-"

Hajime cut in between the two, "How about your two just start heading to class?" She suggested, "That's why you came here in the first place, right?" She asked Tadashi. Tadashi blushed and scratched the back of his head trying to hide his embarrassment.

"Eh?"

"Well-"

"Just go," Hajime had the drones push out the two out of the room again and shut the door. She let out a huff and crossed her arms, "Mou, mama is too slow sometimes," she muttered.

* * *

Erika sighed as she walked down the hallway and dropped her head. She continued mumbling to herself about her project as she tilted side to side.

"You okay?" Tadashi asked.

"Somewhat…" she stretched her arms, "But It would be great if inspiration would hit me like a bus…" She added.

Just as she said that, a door flew open smacking Erika right in the face. Tadashi stared at the girl in shock as she stepped back slowly, holding her face.

The student who opened the door looked over to see what the door hit to find Tadashi slightly panicking as he asked if the maroon hair girl was alright, while she just stood in silence.

"Erika, are you okay?!"

"Oh- gosh- sorry!"

Erika put her hand out, "No… I'm okay…" She assured in a small voice, her other hand covering her face still. "I've been through worst…" she added, but let out a small "ow".

Despite the whole panic in the hallway, Erika managed to get away with just a bruise on her forehead and continued her way to class. She deeply sighed as she rubbed her head.

"Are you sure you don't need to see a doctor or go home?" Tadashi asked.

"I'm fine. Being hit by a door isn't as bad as having a titanium drone fly rammed in to the back of the head and crashing to the floor head first," She told him recalling the worse pain from a few weeks ago.

"Alright… if you say so." He glanced at Erika as she walked in deep thought. She began to mumble to herself again, talking about what her next project should be about. But none of the ideas seem to catch her attention. "Maybe you should take a breather," Tadashi suggested, "If you keep brooding over an idea, it'll never get one."

"Yeah… I guess…" Erika responded sounding a bit reluctant. She brushed back some of her bangs, still in deep thought.

"It's only the beginning of freshman year. You should ta?ke a moment to look around and take a breath." He told her.

"Yeah…" Erika responded before heading to classroom.

* * *

Class passed by quickly as Erika spent most of the time dozing in and out of the lecture, while she noted down some things that caught her attention. Once the professor dismissed the class, she packed up her notes and walked out to head back to her lab. But she stopped noticing the one person she wanted to see least.

In the halls, the woman stood with her usual frown and sharp blue glare directed towards Erika. Students went around her in fear, afraid to even look at her. Erika mentally sighed and approached her with a fake smile.

"… Mother," She began, "What brings you here?" she asked.

"I left a message on your phone stating I would be checking in," her mother responded coldly.

"Ah, I apologize. I haven't checked-"

"I didn't ask for your excuses," She cut Erika in a harsh tone. "I don't have all day, so take me to what you have to show."

Erika's fake smile didn't falter, but her grip on her bag strap tightened, "…yes."

Erika headed to her lab, leading the woman behind her hoping not many would be in the lab at the moment. She opened the door to her personal lab letting the woman in first. The woman took a few glances around the space and let out a deep sigh.

"For someone who hardly comes home from school, you have nothing done." She scoffed, "What have you been doing all summer?"

"I'm working on a new project, so my old project is right now on hold," Erika explained.

The woman huffed at her, "So you've wasted time and money." She looked over to Erika's desk, eyeing the photograph.

"Is that all you need?" Erika asked praying she would leave soon. She felt her patience wearing thinly.

"Why don't you give up already," The women suddenly said, "If you're just going to continue wasting time chasing after a childish dream, you-"

"I refuse," Erika stating letting some of her anger slip.

"What?"

"I would prefer it if you wouldn't decide my life." She stated, "If you're just here to but in my life, please leave."

The woman glared at the girl, "Erika, you-!"

Before the woman could say anything more, there was a knock on the door.

"Oi, Erika. Are you in here?" They heard Haru call. The woman dropped her glare and turned to the door.

"Go open the door," she commanded, "I'm going home."

Erika walked over to the door and opened it widely, hoping her mother would just vanish.

"Hey, Professor Awai…" Erika greeted. Before she could say any more, the woman walked past Erika.

"We'll finish this talk when you return home." She whispered bitterly and stormed off. Watching the woman quickly vanish from her sight, Erika let out a deep groan leaning against the door.

"Thanks for saving me, Haru." She said.

"What are you going to do when you go home? From the looks of it, it's going to be messy."

Erika smirked and walked back to her laptops. "Who said anything about going off." She dropped in to her desk chair and spun around. "This day couldn't get any worse…" she muttered.


End file.
